Hayashi, a 67-year-old independent backed by the Liberal Democratic Party, the Democratic Party of Japan and New Komeito, garnered 694,360 votes.

Among the challengers, Toyokatsu Shibata, 66, a former member of the Yokohama Municipal Assembly backed by the Japanese Communist Party, won 134,644 votes, while Mikifumi Yano, a 38-year-old convenience store operator, collected 19,259 votes.

The turnout came to 29.05 percent, slipping below the 30 percent line for the first time.

During campaigning, Hayashi, a former president of BMW Tokyo Corp. and former chairman of major supermarket chain Daiei Inc., stressed her leadership in reducing to zero the number of children waiting to enroll in day care centers in the city of 3.7 million people.

After securing the victory, Hayashi told her supporters and reporters, “I hope to further promote what I have done during the upcoming four years.”